Cain has knack for putting ball in play
SAN DIEGO - The Milwaukee Brewers signed outfielder Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million contract, the biggest free-agent deal in franchise history, because they thought he’d be a tone-setter for an offense that relied too much on the home run.
If early returns mean anything, the Brewers made exactly the right move, combined with the addition of another on-base specialist, Christian Yelich.
Continuing the momentum he generated with a strong spring camp (.419 batting average, .479 on-base percentage), Cain went 5 for 10 in the first two games against San Diego, with two doubles, two runs scored and two stolen bases. He became the eighth player in franchise history to produce at least five hits in the first two games of the season.
“You could see it in spring training; it’s pretty remarkable how hard he hits the ball,” cleanup hitter Travis Shaw said. “His bat-to-ball skills are remarkable. That’s what you want at the top of the order. It’s a great start for him, and a good start for the top of the order, in general.
“We knew those guys (Cain and Yelich) would be on base a lot. They don’t strike out a lot; they put the ball in play. I think that’s going to help the entire lineup because of the example they set.”
Brewers hitting coach Darnell Coles first saw Cain when he was coming through the farm system, before he was traded to Kansas City in the Zack Greinke blockbuster in December 2010. And, as the assistant hitting coach for Detroit in 2014, Coles saw a lot of Cain during AL Central competition.
“He’s got some special skills, and it’s fun to watch,” Coles said. “He gives you a consistent, professional at-bat, every time he steps up there. He understands situations, and pays attention to details. He stays disciplined and understands what to do and when to do it.”
Cain, who batted third Saturday night with Ryan Braun out of the lineup, said he and Yelich are merely trying to set the table for the middle of the lineup.
“We’re just trying to get on for the guys behind us,” he said. “We’ve got really good hitters behind us, so you want to put the ball in play as much as possible.”
Killing rumors: Brewer general manager David Stearns has a personal policy of not reporting on trade rumors, no matter where they come from or how specific they are. But he felt compelled to immediately shut down a couple of tweets out of Los Angeles purporting to have information about talks between the Brewers and Dodgers about a possible trade of veteran outfielders Braun and Matt Kemp.
“You guys know my policy, I don’t like commenting on this type of stuff,” Stearns told beat writers in the dugout before the game against San Diego. “But given that I don’t want this to be any sort of distraction I’ll say when I first read it, I thought maybe someone was making an early April fool’s joke.
“There’s nothing to it. You have discussions all the time over the course of the off-season, with various crazy concepts . ... But there’s nothing clearly relevant.”
Ron Cervenka of the web site “Think Blue LA” was the first person to report a possible Brewers-Dodgers trade involving Kemp but did not mention Ryan Braun.
A bit later, Michael Duarte of NBC LA went harder with the rumor, adding Braun’s name and saying the Dodgers were including prospects but wouldn’t move a particular player.
Stearns reiterated that he hated commenting “on stuff like this.” And he quickly noted that he wasn’t changing policy and had no plans to comment on trade rumors in the future.
“But there’s no need for this to fester,” Stearns added.
The timing of the rumors was interesting, coming the day after Braun capped a five-run, ninth-inning rally with a two-out, two-strike, three-run home run that beat San Diego, 8-6.
Ready, set, duck: No one could remember a pitcher being hit by liners in consecutive at-bats but that’s exactly what happened to right-hander Brandon Woodruff in the seventh inning Friday night in the Brewers’ 8-6 comeback victory.
“And they were both hit very hard,” said Braun, whose three-run homer capped a five-run rally in the ninth. “That’s scary. Fortunately, he’s OK.”
With a run in, two down and a man on second, San Diego’s Carlos Asuaje hit a liner off the back of Woodruff’s upper right arm. Somehow, he shook that off and stayed in the game, only to have Cory Spangenberg rip a shot that smoked Woodruff in the butt/hip area and rolled right to Braun at first base for the third out, saving another run.